Lorry plunges into Ship Canal

A LORRY driver had a lucky escape when his £70,000 vehicle plunged into the Manchester Ship Canal. Emergency services were called to rescue the lorry which was transporting plastics, after it rolled back into the water at Trafford Park. De Rijke bosses, who own the vehicle, said it started to move while the driver was attaching the container to the cab just after 1.15pm today.

A LORRY driver had a lucky escape when his £70,000 vehicle plunged into the Manchester Ship Canal.

Emergency services were called to rescue the lorry which was transporting plastics, after it rolled back into the water at Trafford Park.

De Rijke bosses, who own the vehicle, said it started to move while the driver was attaching the container to the cab just after 1.15pm today.

The driver, who was standing on the platform at the back of the cab, jumped to the ground seconds before the lorry went over the edge of Trafford Tankwash truck park, in Trafford Wharf Road.

The container and cab sections are then thought to have jack knifed as they fell leaving only the back of the cab sticking out above the water level and the container at the bottom of the canal.

Watch Commander Mick Rothwell, of Stretford Fire Station, said three fire engines and a rescue boat were called out.

"The driver was shocked but very relieved" said Mr Rothwell.

"The water is 30 foot deep and the trailer is at the bottom. It was a dangerous situation.

"We had the boat out as we didn't know what we would find but fortunately the driver had managed to jump clear," added Mr Rothwell.

No fencing guards the vehicles in the car park from the canal edge, with only pieces of corrugated iron on the ground providing any warning to drivers.

Andy Monaghan, managing director of Trafford Tankwash, said he was stunned by the incident.

Very rare

"I'm amazed, this is very rare and the first time it has ever happened," said Mr Monaghan.

"We still don't know what happened. The driver said he reversed fine, was getting out and then it rolled in."

Gabriel Babenko, who works at the Digital World Centre on Salford Quays, said: "It all happened really quickly. One minute everything was fine and the next there were loads of sirens and a police helicopter.

"The cab of the lorry was just sticking up out of the water."

John Stephens, UK General Manager at De Rijke, who was on scene yesterday afternoon, confirmed the driver was based at their Manchester office and had been sent home shaken but unhurt.

He said: "The driver was a bit shaken up but he is not injured and the container was carrying plastics so there are no environmental concerns.

"Obviously there will be an investigation and we will be looking at the braking mechanism to see how this could happen but for now we are concentrating on getting the vehicle out of the water.

"It is a 44 tonne vehicle and it will take some time to get it out safely."